1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an ink for ink jet textile printing, an ink jet textile printing method, and an ink jet textile printing apparatus.
2. Related Art
In the related art, a textile printing method of recording an image on cloth such as fabrics, knitting, and non-woven fabrics is known. As the textile printing method, a screen textile printing method is widely used, and the use of an ink jet recording method is recently examined in terms of using an ink used for textile printing efficiently or the like. Specifically, in the textile printing method using the ink jet recording method (hereinafter, also referred to as an “ink jet textile printing method”), an image is formed on cloth by discharging an ink in a state of droplets from a nozzle of a head to be attached to the cloth.
The ink used for the ink jet textile printing method is formed of, for example, coloring matters such as a pigment or a dye, dispersants (surfactants), and solvents (water, an organic solvent, and the like). Specifically, JP-A-2011-174007 discloses an ink for ink jet textile printing containing water, a water-soluble solvent, dispersants such as polyoxyethylene alkyl ether, disperse dyes, acetylenediol, and acetylene glycol.
However, when a dye is used as a coloring matter, since properties such as light resistance of an image to be recorded are not likely to be excellent, a pigment is used instead of a dye in some cases. For example, an ink for ink jet textile printing which contains a color pigment, a resin, an organic solvent, and an aqueous medium is disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 4214734 and JP-A-2009-30014.
As disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 4214734 and JP-A-2009-30014, when a pigment is used as a coloring matter, a fixing resin is necessary to be added to an ink in order for the pigment to be fixed on cloth. Particularly, the cloth in which an image is recorded (printed) with the ink jet textile printing method is used for clothes or bedclothes which need to be washed frequently in many cases. Accordingly, it is necessary to increase the amount of a resin in an ink for improving fixation (friction resistance) of an image recorded on cloth.
However, in the ink for ink jet textile printing using a pigment as a coloring matter as disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 4214734 and JP-A-2009-30014, aggregates due to a resin are generated in some cases. Especially, the aggregates tend to be significantly generated at a place (that is, a gas-liquid interface) in which an ink supplied to an ink jet textile printing apparatus is in contact with air (bubble) mixed in the ink jet textile printing apparatus.
Particularly, the cloth on which an image is recorded (printed) with the ink jet textile printing method is used for clothes or bedclothes which need to be washed frequently in many cases. Accordingly, it is necessary to increase the amount of a resin in an ink for improving fixation (friction resistance) of an image recorded on the cloth. By doing this, the aggregates due to the resin may be generated more frequently.
In addition, since the cloth on which an image is printed by the textile printing has a property of being easily contracted or expanded, a soft resin with a low glass transition temperature is added to an ink in order for the recorded image to follow the cloth in some cases. Since such a resin easily forms a film, aggregates due to the resin may be generated more frequently.
When such aggregates are generated, the discharging stability of the ink becomes degraded due to the aggregates in some cases.
Further, at the time of storing the ink for ink jet textile printing or filling the ink for ink jet textile printing in the ink jet textile printing apparatus, the viscosity of the ink or the particle size of the pigment is temporarily changed and the storage stability of the ink is degraded in some cases. When the ink jet textile printing is performed using the ink of which the storage stability is degraded, the discharging stability of the ink becomes degraded in some cases.